(in English) Foreign accent imitation is one of the strategies used in intentional voice disguise. This thesis focuses on imitation of the Russian accent in Czech language by Czech speakers and describes the imitated accent based on auditory and acoustic analysis. Both segmental and suprasegmental features of speech have been analysed based on the comparison of audio recordings of regular speech and speech with imitated Russian accent. The most frequent difference implemented by Czech speakers during the imitation task involved the change of duration of vowels in relation to the position of word stress and included both lengthening of stressed vowels and shortening of unstressed ones. Change of vowel quality has been performed mostly on the vowel [ɪ], resulting in a close vowel [i] or resembling [ɨ]. Consonantal deviations usually concerned Czech sounds [ɦ] and [r̝ ], and palatalization of lateral consonant [l]. Audio recordings of Czech imitators as well as Russian speakers were used in the perception test, in which participants had to judge the authenticity of foreign accent. Four out of ten imitators were rated by the majority of listeners as genuine non-native speakers, whereas two out of five Russian speakers were misjudged for imitators. The accent of successful imitators was characterised by...

在民國七十六年十一月二日政府正式開放大陸探親後，兩岸人民往來逐漸頻繁，隨著兩岸人民的交流，對一群隨國民政府來臺的老榮民而言，此再回故鄉距離國民政府撤退大陸已經近四十餘年。兩岸從一九七０年代末期以來，在經濟與社會各方面交流日趨密切與頻繁，在開放探親後，雖屬同文同種，但在兩岸間文化、生活、語言上之差異，兩岸通婚人數逐年增加，從以往的偷渡犯罪，漸變為合法入境而產生另一種犯罪模式的轉變，所衍生各種犯罪問題亦日趨增加，其對國內安全議題影響亦逐漸擴大。 當前影響國家安全之因素，主要有國際環境、兩岸關係與國內形勢等三個面向，除傳統性安全的武力威脅外，許多非傳統性威脅亦逐漸增加，例如：大陸地區人民偷渡來臺、假結婚真賣淫、人口販運、毒品、走私、兩岸組織犯罪、傳染病等問題，均實值得做深入探討與研究，這些問題均對國內社會環境造成變化，增加維持社會治安與社會秩序的內政成本。 全球化的趨勢，在不影響國家安全的前提下，建構兩岸合作打擊犯罪之機制，實刻不容緩，臺灣應儘速尋求兩岸合作之可行模式，本文共分為幾部分，先經由政府對大陸政策實施迄今與執行層面做檢視與探討為出發點，並輔以對探親、結婚及近來討論開放觀光等議題和相關法令做全盤、統整性之分析。再來就相關犯罪所衍生之問題，在移民機關及警察機關間之協調聯繫和在執法上遇到之困境做分析，最後，本研究就合法來臺之大陸人民犯罪問題為研究主軸，並就相關問題提出個人之看法與建議，希能提供就國家安全機制上更完整之參考。 / The Republic of China launched an open policy for people to go abroad to China and visit with their relatives on November 2, 1987, thus the relationship between cross-straits becomes closer and closer since then. To those veterans who followed the Kuomintang government’s move to Taiwan in 1949, it has been almost 40-year- separation for them to make a return voyage. Moreover, since the end of 1970s, the interactions between Taiwan and China have become closer and more frequent in all aspects of economics and society. After the said policy, although the cultural, living, and language difference still exists, the numbers of intermarriage mountain up year by year. As a result, the crime pattern has gradually changed from previous illegal immigration to legal entering but crime enhancing. The crime pattern transformation derives more and more homeland security problems. Nowadays, the factors of influence upon homeland security are mainly related to international environment, cross-strait relationship and domestic situation. Except China’s traditional threat of force to Taiwan, gradually, much other kinds of untraditional threat arise, such as human smuggling, prostitution under the disguise of marriage, drug trafficking, cross-strait organization crime, infectious diseases and etc. Not only do the aforementioned issues influence local social environment but also increase the cost both of social security and public order. Under the trend of globalization, accordingly, there is an eager need for Taiwan to establish possible crime-fighting corporate system with China without influencing Taiwan’s homeland security. The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, based on Taiwan’s “China policy”, this study examines and reviews the policy implementation and effects, then further discusses and analyzes comprehensive issues and related regulations, like relatives visiting, intermarriage, and opening Taiwan to mainland tourism which topic has recently been discussed enthusiastically. Second, aiming at criminal derivatives, this study discusses the difficult situation for said policy communication and implementation between the Competent Authority of immigration, National Immigration Agency and Police Department when dealing with related crime. Finally, focusing on the crime issues of people who enter Taiwan legally from China, this study tends to launch a policy suggestion for reference as setting up a well-designed homeland security system.

This thesis provides a comparative analysis of seven different variants of the fairy tale commonly known as “Donkeyskin,” classified in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther folktale motif index as ATU 510B. By comparing so many different iterations of one fairy tale, it is easier to recognize the inherent attitudes concerning women and their place in society contained in this tale. Additionally, reading multiple variants from different centuries lends a perspective on the way that these attitudes changed over the centuries. Each of the thirteenth century texts considered end with their heroines trapped in loveless marriages, much like the seventeenth-century fairy tale, “Donkeyskin,” their direct literary descendant. The nineteenth century texts then present death or marriage as the alternatives for women, while the twentieth century brings the first instance of a heroine choosing for herself. This comparison allows the reader to learn not only what was considered a “happy ending” at the time, but also to gain a better understanding of the means by which a woman could gain agency.

Il y aurait interaction constante entre théâtre comique, masque et pouvoir que nous examinons à travers une lecture intertextuelle et comparative des pièces françaises, francophones et égyptiennes des XIXe et XXe siècles, en mettant l’accent sur les techniques de camouflage et leurs objectifs, témoins d’une continuité entre les cultures. Nous démontrons que la distanciation, bien que rattachée au monde sérieux de la dramaturgie brechtienne, excelle surtout dans le théâtre comique du masque. Ce projet comporte en fait trois parties. Dans une première partie, nous passons en revue dans le premier chapitre les métamorphoses du masque avec ses procédés en arrimant théâtre comique et notion du pouvoir. Nous posons ensuite dans un second chapitre l’assise théorique et méthodologique qui sert de base à notre étude, en abordant le théâtre du masque comme un procédé dramaturgique de distanciation. Nous examinons premièrement la distanciation à travers les zones du texte (didascalies, prologue, spectacle enchâssé), où le théâtre se dit comme tel. Nous consacrons la deuxième partie à l’exploration de tous les procédés d’étrangéisation employés par les dramaturges en vue de distancier le personnage portant le masque du pouvoir, en mettant en lumière son caractère bouffon et carnavalesque. Le travestissement sous ses divers aspects impose un rapport de forces entre les personnages qui se manifeste à travers l’échange verbal et non verbal derrière le masque ainsi que l’espace et la temporalité, et constitue un vecteur de distanciation, comme on le voit dans la troisième partie. Le cadre spatio-temporel, étant le support d’un jeu de faire-semblant, enracine la relation de domination occasionnée par le masque. Du fictif se dégage une image du réel. / There would be constant interaction between comic theater, mask, and power that we examine through a comparative and intertextual reading of French francophone, and egyptian plays from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; focusing on the techniques of camouflage and their targets, which affirm continuity between cultures. We show that “distanciation”, although attached to the serious world of Brechtian dramaturgy, excels in the comic theater of the mask. This project comprises of three parts. In the first chapter of the initial part, we review the metamorphoses of the mask with its processes, by matching comic theater and concept of power. Then we put in a second chapter ,the theoretical basis and methodology, used as the basis for our study; addressing the theater of the mask as a dramatic process of “distanciation”. Firstly we examine the distance through the zones of the text (stage directions, prologue, & embedded shows), where the theater is presented alike. We devote the second part to the exploration of all the processes employed by the playwrights, in order to distance the character wearing the mask of power, highlighting its comic and carnivalesque aspects. The travesty in its various facets imposes a balance of power (relationship of power) between the characters. Which is manifested through verbal and non verbal exchange behind the mask ,space, and time which are vectors of distanciation (as seen in the third part). The spatio-temporal framework, being the holder of a game of make-believe, rooted the relationship of domination caused by the mask. The fictitious emerges an image of reality.

This thesis offers a reading of GQ South Africa 2000, the first glossy men’s magazine to be launched in South Africa (in 2000). It traces the possible iconographical genealogy of glossy men’s magazines to canonical erotic artworks and examines the aesthetic conventions used by GQ to elevate its contents through an implied association with art. This thesis, furthermore, investigates the commonalities between GQ, a ‘mainstream’ publication, and ‘pornography’ (as defined by the United States Civil Rights Ordinance 1985). In this way, the fluid impermanence of ‘art’, ‘pornography’ and ‘popular culture’ as typologies is highlighted. The new taxonomy of ‘gentlemen’s pornography’ is introduced in order to counter the notion that material that has the gloss of ‘high culture’ and is deemed socially acceptable, cannot be pornographic. This thesis submits that a critical reading of glossy men’s magazines from an interdisciplinary perspective is imperative in order to reveal their ideological assumptions. The ideological position that informs this study is the radical feminist belief that pornography objectifies and subordinates women and is, therefore, harmful. The thesis is simultaneously grounded in the theoretical methodologies of visual culture and art history, and as such assumes the intonation of these disciplines. From a Postmodern point-of-view, popular visual culture not only wields power in terms of generalising (capitalist and sexist) western paradigms, but is also skilful at masking its significant influence in doing so. For this reason, this dissertation endeavours to raise a critical dialogue concerning the ideological ‘message’ of glossy men’s magazines. The sometimes antithetical nature of discourse critically centered on gender representation in visual culture may be attributed to the pervasiveness of familiar (and therefore seemingly harmless) female objectification in the popular media. This thesis examines the iconography of gendered stereotypes against the erotic/pornographic, high culture/low culture object/subject binaries, and, furthermore, situates these types in the wider dialectic of ‘obscene’ (off-scene) versus ‘acceptable’ culture. The glossy men’s magazines that form the interest of this study are a trade situated in the alliance of social elitism and representational control over the female body, and, thus, this thesis marks the point of intersection between consumer culture and the politics of display. / Dissertation (MA (Visual Arts))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Visual Arts / unrestricted

The global pandemic of Covid-19 led to a crisis of not only fatal impact but financially. The stock market experienced one of its biggest market crashes ever and the young investors of our generation experienced something that they could never imagine. Their financial situation and investments suddenly changed and many of them did not know how to act or behave during this difficult period. This paper is based on qualitative research where ten different young investors have been interviewed to determine if they have matured and how their behavior has changed financially. The two research questions for the paper are: Is Covid-19 a blessing in disguise forcing young investors to mature, increasing their financial literacy, and thus change their investment behavior? and how has the Covid-19 pandemic affected young investors decision making on the stock market? The study and research questions were determined using three theories which are the efficient market hypothesis, behavioral finance, and the stages of change model. All three models were used to see how an individual behave during a financial crisis. The efficient market hypothesis basically argues that all relevant information matches the prices of stocks at any given time. Behavioral finance examines how an individual behave in a financial setting such as investment behaviors. Herding behavior and overconfidence are two cognitive biases within behavioral finance that was easily seen in the individuals for this study. The stages of change model states that an individual go through five different stages when a change of behavior is needed. This model could be applied on any individual, but a change of investments behavior should not go through so many stages as the model has so it had some limitations on the individuals in the study. The results and findings of the paper states that young investors have learned a valuable lesson from the Covid-19 pandemic increasing their financial literacy and creating more sustainable strategies for future investments.

This thesis explores the relationship between the plurality of polyphonic and independent voices and consciousnesses, a Mikhail Bakhtin's concept, in two plays by Lope de Vega. El maestro de Danzar y El bobo del colegio are two of his least known and studied. Both plays present protagonists, simple citizens, which pretend to court two noble ladies. Under these circumstances, they are forced to avoid social rejection, issue guaranteed by their humble lineage. In order to complete their undertaking, they disguise as a dance teacher and a university fool. This process shields them from, the above mentioned, traditional disapproval they are subject to. It also entitles them to become, symbolically and virtually, the main dialogic executors in the play. Bakhtin depicts the process of embracing an alternate identity, different from their own, as a vital part of carnival. It compels the leading characters, El maestro and El bobo being no exception, to undergo two changes. First, they become a new individual, recognizable only to those who are aware of their masks. Second, their voices attract attention to the point of influencing the preeminent nobles of the comedy to follow their lead. Further, their ideas come to matter more than those of any other voice in the comedy. In the beginning they follow an ideal, and are subdued by social hierarchy. At the conclusion, they finish leading and controlling the polyphonic relationship between the independent voices and consciousnesses of the other characters in the play. And rather than a conflict, both comedies depict a harmonic social interaction of all their characters. Although scholarship exists analyzing individual plays, a comprehensive study of the effective association between language and disguise favoring a villano over high-class citizens has never been undertaken. This is Lope's strategy to plainly contrast the traditional social differentiation of classes.

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The researcher conducted a critical analysis of the policing of counterfeit crime in South Africa. A pure qualitative research design and approach was adopted. A literature review, interviews and observations were conducted to provide an overview of this problem nationally and internationally. Interview schedules were designed with pre-determined open-ended questions, which allowed participants to explain their perceptions, opinions and viewpoints on the policing of counterfeit in South Africa. Some of the designed questions were mailed to respondents. Questions were posed to members of the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit, members of the South African Police Service’s Crime Prevention Unit, members of the Department of Trade and Industry who deal with counterfeit, prosecutors who normally prosecute counterfeit cases, brand owners/holders/representatives, and attorneys who assist in the policing of counterfeit crime. The findings of this study informed the proposed recommendations for preventative and reactive response mechanisms. These proposed recommendations suggest ways of improving efficiency and effectiveness in policing counterfeit in South Africa. / Criminology and Security Science / Ph. D. (Criminal Justice)